Ball-bearing.



E. OLDFIELD.

BALL BEARING.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 17, 1911,

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

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INVENTOI? WITNESSES: & M

ATTORNEY EDWIN OLDFIELD, OF NORWICH, CONNECTICUT.

BALL-BEARING.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN 'OLDFIELD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norwich, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ball- Bearings, of which the following is a specificat-ion.

The object of this invention is to provide my present improvement, Figure 1 being an end view of a ball bearing embodying-' said improvement; the ring members being partly broken away to disclose the balls and separators located therein. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of said Fig. 1. In Fig. 3 I have shown views of two forms of separator disks that may be used in carrying my present invention into effect. Fig. 4 shows face and edge views of a special form of disk which I provide for locking the balls and separators in the raceway, as I shall explain in detail hereinafter. In Fig. 5 I have illustrated, on a relatively enlarged scale, three balls and two separator disks, for the purpose of explaining the interlocking relation of the disks to the balls when the said disks and balls are operatively mounted in the annular raceways.

Referring to these drawings the numerals 10 and 11 indicate, respectively, the outer and inner ring members, the same being arranged in concentric relation to each other, as seen in Fig. 1, and having their confronting faces grooved, as seen in Fig. 2, to provide an annular raceway for a plurality of balls which are inserted in said raceway through a lateral opening 1213 that is sufficiently large to allow the: free passage of the balls therethrough. The halls are-separated by disks 14, of approximately the same diameter as the balls; said disks being provided with central openings 14- .which allow the periphery of the balls to enter said opening slightly, as seen in Fig. 5, the disks being however of suflicient thick Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed J'iily 11, 1911.

Patented Jan. 28, 1913.

Serial N 0. 638,947.

ness to prevent the balls from contacting with each other. When the balls and ,disks, thus assembled, are mounted in the raceway the disks serve not only to separate the balls but also to prevent the undue lateral deflection of the balls, particularly at the instant when the balls are passing the notches 12 and 13.

In the operation of assembling the parts of my described ball bearing thetwo ring members 10 and 11 are brought together in concentric relation to each other and they are then adjusted so as to bring the notches 12 and 13 opposite each other, as in Fig.1, thus providing a circular, opening of sufficient size 'to receive the balls. The ballsand separator disks are then inserted (throu h the said opening) in the raceway; the ha is and separators being arranged in alternate relation to each other, as seen in Fig. 1, the last separator disk being forced into place between the balls. I find in practice that, in the operation of thus forcing in the last disk, the previously assembled ,balls and disks will adjust themselves into close engagement with each other for the instant and, when the last disk snaps into place be-- tween the balls, said balls'and disks will relax, so to speak, and separate sufliciently to prevent undue frictional resistance when the ball bearing device is in service but will still remain in such close relation to each other that neither the disks nor the balls to provide a circular opening, as in Fig. 1,

and one of the disks may then be forced out through said opening by means of a thin set (inserted between the outer and inner rings, at the backside) and a hammer and, after one disk has thus been forced out, the balls and disks, or any of them, may be removed readily through the opening 1213.

If preferred, the last disk may be of the special form shown in Fig. 4 and which I term the locking key disk inasmuch as it serves'to lock the balls and disks together and prevent their accidental displacement in the raceway, or their escape through the opening 12'13, but may be readily removed without appreciabl force.

If desired the locking key disk 'may be milled, orotherwise marked, on its circumferential edge so that it may be readily the outer and inner rings may be adjusted,

identified and so that it may be the more readily rotated. Said special, or locking key disk is grooved or recessed radially as at 14', to a depth about equal to the distance which the balls enter in the central opening of the disks, thus making it pos-- s1 le to enter said locking disk between the last two balls of the series or, it may be be- .tween the first and last balls inserted, dependent upon the manner in which the balls are placed, and after having thus inserted said locking disk it is partially rotated so to bring the grooved side opening 1213.

When the described ball bearing is in service the outer ring 10 revolves upon the inner ring and the notches 12-13 are never in fixed relation to each other so that the balls and separators cannot escape therethrough, even if said balls and separators were not interlocked with each other. When it. is desired to remove the locking key disk 14" opposite the (I tion between the balls. The halls and separators may then be removed through the opening 12--13.

My described structure provides a strong,

simple and serviceable ball bearing havinga practically continuous or unbr0ken, raceway, whose several parts may be readily assembled or separated and, in the event that the balls or separator disks become worn, the backlash may be overcome by simply removing one of the disks and substituting therefor a disk made of slightly thicker material.

Having thus described my invention, I claim p The improved ball bearing described, comprising inner and outer ring members concentrically arranged with their confronting faces grooved to form a raceway and having notches upon their adjacent faces, balls in said raceway and non-elastic perforated disks between the balls, the perforations of said disks receiving portions of said balls and one of said disks having a radial recess to constitute a locking key, said locking key being interposed between the last ball and the next adjacent ball and partially rotatable to move the said recess out of register with the fillin opening.

ED IN OLDFIELD. Witnesses:

FRANK H. ALLEN, FRANK C. PALMER. 

